The Meaning of a Name

What's in a Name?

        Choosing a name for a baby has been an important topic for all new parents. When I was young (during the 60's hippie era) my preference for names was "the more unusual or creative the better." Thank goodness I didn't have children to name at that point in my life. Now I see people burdened with the mystical names of Karma, Sunshine or worse and realize that as a kid they were stuck with the teasing and ridicule or plain look of incredulity on the face of someone who they are introduced to.
        One day when I was recording my dad's story, I asked him how I got my name. He accidentally  revealed an important clue to a first unknown marriage and obviously a half sister, when he said, " Well, Barbara was already taken." And I said, what do you mean? He clammed right up and I never got another word out of him on that subject. My mother always wondered whether he'd gotten my name from some old girlfriend or was I named after Beverly Hills.
        Someday, I will tell you the story of how I put this clue together with some old photographs and solved the mystery of my dad's first marriage. But first, more about the names you might find in your patriarchal blessing.

Names in Your Patriarchal Blessing

        Why am suggesting that you learn about the people in your patriarchal blessing? It is because their names have meanings that clarify their role in this mortal life. The meaning of a name, if you consider the scriptures, must mean a lot to the Lord. I've wondered which came first, the inspired name, or was it a label that came after a life correctly lived? If you consider that prophets and parents were entitled to inspiration, then it is obviously the first. The next step is to take this study of the people mentioned in your blessing a step further. After you have made a list of these people, take them one by one and ponder them a moment. Ask the question, “What do I know about them?” Discovering their stories can be a fruitful study in the future. There were many heroes among these, our forefathers, certainly we can discover many character traits to emulate.

Bible Dictionary Helps Us Understand Names

Look up the people in your blessing that are in the Bible Dictionary. Here are some examples:

Elect of the Lord—found under the word election in the BD "being born at a time, at a place, and in circumstances where one will come in favorable contact with the gospel. This election took place in the premortal existence. Those who are faithful and diligent in the gospel in mortality receive an even more desirable election in this life, and become the elect of God. These receive the promise of a fulness of God's glory in eternity (D & C 84:33-41). The concept held by many that God unconditionally elected some to be saved and some to be damned without any effort on their part is not correct, for the scriptures teach that it is only by faith and obedience that one's calling and election is made sure (2 Peter 1; D&C 131:5)."

Jesus—in  Greek form of the name Joshua or Jeshua, meaning God is help or Savior.             

Christ—in  Greek, meaning the annointed or in Hebrew, the Messiah.

Joseph—here I read all about Joseph and found the meaning of his name in Gen 48:4 and 49:22, a fruitful bough by a well whose branches run over the wall. In the footnote it says to see Vineyard of the Lord, reminding us of the Jacob 5 story in the Book of Mormon.

Ephraim—means fruitful; Joseph said, when he named him said,”For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

Elijah—meaning Jehovah is my God

Israel—God strives

Jacob—Supplanter

            Some of these men are my forefathers and I want to know more about them. Each of them are certainly wonderful subjects for study and entire books have been written about them, but for our purposes here, just do a survey of them and refresh your memory of who they are and make a list with their meanings.

The Lord Knows us by Name           

QUOTE: “He called me by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was Moroni; that God had a work for me to do; and that my name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people.”

-- Joseph Smith—History 1:33

THOUGHT: When the father and the Son appeared to Joseph Smith, they spoke to him calling him by his name. His name was foretold in the scriptures. His name was important. We are given new names in sacred places. These, also have meaning. Perhaps we should learn the meaning of our own names.

The Meaning of Your Own Name

            Before reading this had you noticed in your scripture study that all of the proper names in the old testament have meanings? I’ve thought about this over the years, but when I likened this principle unto myself it just didn’t seem to work for me. My name has what I think is a pretty dumb meaning. It means Beaver Lane. Ick! Well, beaver’s do build damns, are industrious (eager beaver), love to carve wood or chop down trees, build creative homes to protect their families…hmmm maybe that has some relevance, symbolically speaking. But really, Beaver Lane? (lane or lea means a tract of open ground, especially grassland; meadow) So, as I told you above, when I asked my dad why they named me Beverly and he said, “Because Barbara was already taken, I didn’t know what that meant until last year when I discovered that he had a wife before my mother and they had a daughter. Bingo!

My daughter, when she was young,  bought me a card for a gift that had my name on it with it’s meaning stated as “From the Meadow.” It was a gift she could afford from her allowance. I found it some years ago and put it on my computer. This was a very thoughtful gift. Not only did it have my name, Beverly, on it, but she saw it had a scripture on it and knew that I loved my scriptures. So, each day as I sat by my computer I remember my daughter AND I remember my scriptures.

The scripture found on it didn’t seem to have a connection, to my name but was:

“They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles.” –Isaiah 40:31

This scripture being in front of me each day has had a subtle influence on me. I’ve grown to love Isaiah. I’ve studied Isaiah diligently over the years. His writing always seemed like a puzzle to me. I love puzzles. Surely, the Lord would not say that Isaiah's words are “great” if no one could understand him, so I began my study fifteen years ago and last year I finally had a breakthrough. It’s been one of the most rewarding studies I’ve ever undertaken.

One Word from Your Personal Scripture is Right in Your Face Everyday!

Studying our own personal scripture then, should be just as rewarding as a study of a prophet's story and writings. One word from your scripture is “in front” of you every day, too. You write it several times a day when you are young or in college. You see it when you sign contracts, pay bills by check, sign in to FaceBook, or show your driver’s license as a form of ID. It is your name.

You will find that our names may also be an influence upon us and others. We, too, may have our names remembered. It is our choice and agency that will determine whether it will be for good or not.

I testify that the Lord knows you by name. When we return to Him, he will call us by our name, and we hope that he will say to us, “Well done, thou good and  faithful servant.”